Nation nips Love by 70 votes

By Howard Greninger
Tribune-Star
May 7, 2003

Downtown advocate Todd Nation unseated Mick Love for the Democratic nomination for the District 4 seat on the Terre Haute City Council.

Nation got nearly 54 percent of the vote, or 509 votes to 439 votes cast for Love.

Love, 54, said he was disappointed with the defeat.

"I thought I had all my bases covered and did everything that I normally do," he said. "I think it had something to do with the mayor's race. I think there were a lot of Republicans that crossed over and voted for Kevin Burke and I think that trickled down to my race."

The bright side, he said, is he would be able to spend more time with his family.

Nation, 37, said he is campaigning to bring the entire District 4 into a coordinated region of the city with neighborhoods such as Farrington's Grove working to complement Indiana State University and the downtown.

"I think there is fertile ground to create a city core that we haven't really been able to coordinate before," Nation said, such as development of property north of ISU and coordinating bike and pedestrian paths between the school and Farrington's Grove.

Nation will face Republican Mark May in the November election. May received 73 votes on the Republican primary ballot.

"I am confident and my plan is to meet the voters one at a time. I think I have a platform the voters will be interested in," May, 44, said. One is traffic through neighborhoods in the district. "Commuters take Third Street or Seventh Street and find gridlock, so they travel through neighborhood streets that make it unsafe for children," May said.